1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to the area of wear measurement of material surface. More specifically, it relates to a device for measuring the effect of friction force on wear characteristics of a material surface and can find its use in machinery production technology.
2. Description of Related Art
Surface wear depends on the dynamic loads of interacting surfaces and lubricant properties. Different methods and devices are used for measuring wear.
Known in the art is a device for the measurement of variable loads characteristics of a sample (Mechanical testing of hydraulic fluids. DGMK-Research Report 514, Hamburg, 1999). A tested friction pair is loaded mechanically by an eccentric and by changing pressure in a hydraulic system of the device. The disadvantage of this device is the shock load caused by the eccentric at the start of pair friction and the impossibility to evaluate the influence of this shock load on wearing.
Also known is a wear measurement device of anodic aluminum surface (U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,511 published Sep. 25, 1990). The surface in this device is loaded by the pressing of ball and the ball rotation speed is measured. Wear depends not only on the ball pressure and its rotation speed but also on vibrations of device elements' interaction that are not considered.
There is also known a device for measuring fatigue characteristics of contacting surfaces (U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,882 published Nov. 17, 1998). The device is designed to measure surface fatigue characteristics depending on the force of contacting pressure and impact time. Balls located around a fixed round sample are supported by two rings with bevel internal surfaces. Approaching the bevel surfaces can gradually increase or decrease the load on the sample surface. The load is regulated. This device cannot estimate the value of surface abrasion but rather the beginning of surface decay.
The most relevant to the present invention is believed to be a device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,395 published Dec. 7, 1999) for the evaluation of friction interaction between a friction material as a sample and a slide portion which are in sliding contact. The sample is pressed on the sliding portion and the pressing force is measured. The frequency of actuated vibration is measured by changing sliding speed. This device measures pressing force and sliding speed but the settled loading mode is distorted by the elements' interaction vibrations which are measured but whose influence on the final wear results is not taken into consideration.